Horsebox buying-usage?

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littlen

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Hi everyone,

sorry for the millionth thread on this topic.

I have found a box I like. Its very reasonably priced, perfect age, the exact box I wanted and has a full 12 months MOT.

So why am I so worried about it? I wasnt even this bad horse buying!!

The box itself is fab, im worried I wont use it enough,that it will waste away and waste money!
I am also hearing horror stories of people buying then it costing 1000s to repair?

The box itself is lovely but has had 3 owners and therfore I dont know who converted it (movano 3.5t)
As long as its sound does this matter? It is reinforced and looks well done?


Finally, how often do I need to use it before it becomes worth it?!
How often do you use yours?

Thanks!! i am a worrier and need a kick to make the plunge! Its easy sold, right?
 
Forgot to say my horse is very average, so we will not be headed anywhere but locally, I am well prepared to come last constantly!!
 
I've been looking forward to buying a lorry for years but now I 'can' I'm having the same doubts as you! I also keep having a debate with myself over weather to get a 3.5t or do my lory test and get a 5t.

No help to you I'm afraid but I can sympathise with you, you are not alone in feeling this way!
 
Does it matter how much you use it? Surely it is the convenience of being able to go out when you want that makes it worth it? Mine doesn't get used a great deal through the winter, but in the summer I try and go out once a week even if that is just to go for a hack.
 
I had all the same worries when I bought my first box ... Wibble this, wibble that and finally I thought **** it and bought the damn thing. Hasn't always been cheap or easy, but the freedom was wonderful and you'll quickly wonder how you ever managed without transport!
 
I can afford it easily at the moment, but if it were to cost 1000s to fix I wouldnt have it lying about ( could always store it until I did?)

Nearest hire company is 40miles away. Cost is £110 per day plus diesel.
The box I am looking at is a movano so if i use it twice a month it will be cheaper (assuming running costs are less than 220pcm)

I could join a riding club I suppose?? I am scared of competing alone!
 
littlen, you sound just like me!!! I've been procrastinating for ages about getting a wee box so I can get out and about but I'm nervous of going places on my own too lol.
 
I wish i was spontanious!!!

I have researched and googled for months and this box has popped up, i dont want to kick myself later wishing I had bought!!
 
If I were you I wouldn't worry too much about the thought of spending thousands on repairs etc to the lorry........................ you are buying a 3.5 ton which is little more than a van. The horror stories you read on here are normally for 7.5 ton vhicles & upwards. Your prospective purchase will need an MOT which should be able to be done at a normal garage. You will find that parts are normally cheaper than lorrys as well. You won't have air brakes, air suspension etc to go wrong.

Just ensure that the payload is sufficient for your needs, some don't have enough, get it weighed & then you'll know.

As people have said, only you can say if owning a 3.5 tonner is right for you. You can go out * about whe n you want to go, you don't have to rely on someone else. If you had a trailer then you will no longer need a thirsty tow car. You may well find that the mpg on the 3.5 tonner will be really good. I have a friend that only has a 3.5 tonner, he uses it as his normal vehicle & gets great mpg.

Good luck with whatever you decide. ;)
 
Thanks!!

I will only carry one horse (and possibly a shetland) so not concerned about payload too much!!

I thought about trailers but the thought of parting with my alfa mito for the sake of a lorry is sad!! Plus i have a long commute (30 miles each way) and a 4x4 would cripple me petrol wise!! oh and I cant tow on my liscence either so a no go! :)
 
It is not really whether it is worth buying one in terms of how much you will use it it is whether you will use it enough to keep it going. I was advised by VOSA that ideally a lorry (7.5tonner or more) needs to go out every week in order to prevent deterioration via brakes needing stripping as they have sat, rust etc.
 
I used to have a little box and wish I had it now. I used to go out at least once a week, to a lesson or competition, sometimes three times a week! It gives you a freedom that is great, whether you just want to go to the beach or somewhere else for a hack out with friends. With the smaller modern vans the running costs are low. I find that now I am struggling to get out as it is so expensive to hire, I can't justify £150 to do two dressage tests.
 
Go for it. I sold my wonderful Citroen last year as needed bigger box. Depending on the age, you should find it is generally ecconomical to run and keep. The road tax was about £220.
I hired for about a year before I purchased to ensure I would be able to drive it, and horses would travel ok. We used our own far mroe than when we hired- just because we could! There is nothing like being able to suit yourself,and either just pack up and go, or even not go if weather is foul!
 
Oooh, go for it! I am saving at the moment and I have had the occasional moment when I've thought - but would I use it enough!? But then I think of all the things I automatically dismiss because I don't have transport like trying a new instructor, going to the beach, going to nicer hacking, friday night jumping, riding club, pony camp, whizzing to the vets for jabs (much cheaper than the call out!!). Do it!! :D
 
littlen said:
Does anyone know how much the masters/movanos are to tax? :)
Click to expand...

I have a Movano and it's £130 per year to tax - that's less than my Honda Civic. But it's a euro light (or so it says on the V5 - I don't actually know what that means!) and has low emissions.
Prior to this one I had a Master and the engine blew up on the motorway when I was driving it back to the dealer to be replaced (it was faulty - clearly). Pistons shot off down the hard shoulder and it shat the oil all over the motorway - it wasn't pretty....the Highways Agency's officers first words to me were "It's not a recovery truck this needs, it's the scrapyard".
However - the one I now have is fine - although it has cost me a fortune to get it in the condition it is in. Battery went in week one, clutch went in week three. Gearbox bearings had to be replaced, new alternator and I got the cam belt done at the same time as I wasn't risking that going after I had spent so much money on it.
It cost me about £2000 altogether. That was almost two years ago and since then apart from an annual service and MOT it has cost me nothing in maintenance. It's more economical on fuel than my car and it starts first time, every time - even after sitting for six weeks.
My horse got very ill not long after I had all the work done on this van and I had to take her up and down from Cumbria, to Glasgow and Edinburgh Vet Hospitals. It never felt once like it was going to let me down.
They are great and I love mine, but you must be prepared that when things do go wrong with them, they are quite expensive to fix....
 
We bought a little 1987 iveco 5 years ago and it has cost less to run and maintain than my now 7 yr old Discovery over the same period, and depreciation has been minimal. There is a firm that advertises a thorough mechanical pre-purchase checkover and that could be worth it for you to put your mind at rest.
We don't just do shows, there's trips to Somerford Park, Kelsall Hill, fun rides, dressage tests, pony club, hiring an indoor to school in winter, beach in summer, and moving all manner of large objects! We have used it to get hay in, house moves, and (god forbid) should you or a friend ever need emergency travel at least it is there.
Wouldn't be without my own transport now.
 
I was like you, I ummmed and ahhhhed about a little box for ages and ages I had been looking for a while and as my horse was getting fitter and my confidence started increasing the more I wanted to go out and about, not only competing but to clinics to the beach and hacking off-road! So I bit the bullet and bought my little 3.5 tn it's an ldv conversion it's not the prettiest but it's sound and my horse is happy travelling in it which is the most important thing! I worried and agoniised over getting it, way more than buying my car for some reason, it was over 200 miles away so I got the train down to view it, took the cash with me ( luckily my aunt lives down on Leicester so was able to pick me up and go with me to view the box) and then bought it there and then and drive it back all the way home in the dark and rain on my own! I had already taken out insurance ( which I could have cancelled if the sale didn't go ahead) and breakdown cover, do that on the chance that I had bought a dud and it broke down on the way home I would be able to have someone come out and tow us home!

In the end it drove perfectly all the way, and I was actually really glad I did that first long drive on my own as I was a lot less nervous driving it with my boy in it than I otherwise would have been.

Cost wise, it's the same to tax as my car and insurance is waaay cheaper? I cancelled my gym membership and that paid for my insurance for the year!

Do it! You won't regret it, I live having the freedom to go out and about and I mostly go on my own and it's fine once you get into a routine. The only thing I found a bit difficult was refusing people lifts, a couple of girls just expected me to take their horses with mine if I was going somewhere and thought I was being a bit funny when I said no, but really my horse is 15.2 skinny tb x with him me and all our stuff and half a tank of petrol I know I am underweight, another horse would send me illegal and I'm just not willing to do it. Now they all know I won't do it, it's a lot easier as no one asks anymore! But it was slightly awkward in the beginning.

Also I like the fact that, god forbid/touch wood, my horse ever needs a midnight trip to leahurst I can get him there without relying on anyone else, it's peace of mind.
 
I was scared too when I bought my first 7.5t box, and even after the deal was done I remember waking up at 3 in the morning before collecting it, terrified. Had a lovely time in it, changed it for a 3.5 a while later, now back in the market for a bigger one again. The fear goes very quickly and you get as used to it as you did your car when you first had one.

Good luck and have a lovely time.
 
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